A mosaic garden stone

and this one is for Riley.  

I have done other mosaics in the past for the garden, too.  It's such an enjoyable craft and once I get started I want to do more and more.  You can see my welcome stone here.  Another garden stone here (a blue one).  A yellow mosaic birdhouse here.  And a mosaic bird bath here.  

I've also done mosaics on terra cotta saucers, here and here.

I made this garden stone red for Riley because when he was just a pup the breeder painted his toe nail red so she could tell the pups apart.  There were six in the liter, Otis included and he had his toe nail painted purple.  So ever since then we always bought Riley red collars, red leashes and red sweaters.  

He was always red.  And so, the red garden stone.  

Peonies from the garden

....one of the loveliest of flowers.   A beautiful flower that takes your breath away.  

I brought a bouquet in from the garden this morning and put them in my white teapot.  The shadows from the morning sun were so pretty I just had to take a picture.  

One of life's simple pleasures.

Happy Mother's Day

...to all the mothers everywhere  

Being domestic today

After breakfast this morning I felt like cleaning the house.  Sometimes it just feels good to clean...clears the mind, don't you think?  

It's overcast and a gray day ~ seems the perfect day for cleaning....dusting the furniture and vacuuming the floors.  Of course if you can write your name on your end tables, it's obviously time to clean.  The pollen has been terrible this year, but with all the rain we've had recently, I think the yellow dust is over.  

I find that cleaning not only clears my head but also lifts my spirits.  It's been a rough week to get through with the passing of Riley.  

Gardening does the same thing for me.  I can get lost in thought as I dig in the dirt.  

I baked a cake today, too.  Probably shouldn't have, but Galen was glad I did.  

So it's been a very domesticated day.  Clean house, laundry done, and cake for dessert tonight.  And Otis watches it all from the back of the sofa.  

I want to say thank you for all your thoughts and kind words for the loss of Riley.  It means a lot, and we're doing ok.   I planted a white Bleeding Heart over his grave.  

Riley

Hello, my dear blogging friends.  I am so sad to be posting this, with tears in my eyes,  but I want to let you know that our beloved Riley has died.  He died on Thursday, May 2.  We had his wonderful presence for 12 years and loved him dearly.  You can't imagine how much I miss him.  

He was a good companion, he made us laugh, he was friendly and obedient and was always by his brother's (Otis) side.  They were inseparable.  Otis misses him.  

We will now cherish the wonderful memories of him in our hearts, always.  

I love you, little Riley.  

I love you and miss you.  

You will be forever in my heart. 

A silly rose story

About a year and a half ago I ordered a rose bush from a catalog....Zephririne Drouhn , a climber, for our pergola over the patio.  Catalog places usually mail the plant when it's time to put them in the ground, so last year, the end of February, my rose came in the mail.  It was right after the time I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  

Galen dug the hole and we planted the rose.  I said to him, this is my cancer rose.  We will watch it grow and survive.....ah, unless it dies, which we don't want to think about, and we snickered and said, no it's going to live and grow to be beautiful.)    

One year later ~ 

the rose has grown almost four feet tall, and, yes, it has survived.  Yesterday it bloomed.  What a beautiful pink bloom and so fragrant.  I can't wait until it covers the pergola.  

I know this is a silly story, but it's just something that came about on it's own.  Some things are meant to happen that way, I think.  I believe in small miracles and this, to me, is kind of a small miracle.  

Yay!  It survived and I survived the first year.  

  

Flowers everywhere...

Hello my friends.  I thought we would take a walk in the garden today and see what's blooming.  This time of year azaleas are at their peak here in the south and they are beautiful.      

We have just about every color there is to be had here at Mourning Dove Cottage.  

Last year I didn't plant any flowers because of cancer and I told myself this year I will be surrounded by flowers.  I will have them in every nook and cranny.  

Flowers everywhere.  What can be better?  

Part sun, part shade

Our once full sun flower garden off the patio is now part sun, part shade.  The garden seems to be forever changing. I picked up some bright pink Begonias and a Blue Ice plant for that space and will plant it along with the Ajuga, Vinca, Black-eyed-susans, and whatever else is growing there.  This is one bed I have to work on this summer.  

As you can see, part sun, part shade.  

I've never tried the Blue Ice Bog Andromeda.  Pink flowers in the spring, striking blue tinged foliage, excellent as a ground cover.  We shall see how it grows.  I may even buy more if I like it.  

Any suggestions for part sun, part shade?